60 wooden churches

The programme “60 wooden churches” is carried out in association with the Romanian Order of Architects and the Pro Patrimonio Foundation. Its objective is to save and preserve the rural heritage from northern Oltenia and southern Transylvania. It consists of wooden cemetery churches, partially or completely abandoned, all of which are classified as historic monuments, dating from the 17th to the 19th century.

The project began in 2009 and is carried out with the help of over 100 young people of various professions (architects, restoration artists, engineers, sociologists, etc), most of them volunteers. Since October 2013, the project has benefitted from international support and recognition, having been nominated in the international World Monuments Watch 2014 and included in the -7 most endangered- programme of Europa Nostra.

In March 2015, Europa Nostra has made its report on the wooden churches in northern Oltenia and southern Transylvania, advising all most important actors – the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Romanian Orthodox Church – to get involved. Without a close collaboration, there is a high risk of degradation of these heritage buildings, which are evidence of local communities being formed.